The content
presented was not new to our knowledge bank, we were exposed to writing using
descriptive genre in past courses, however, this lecture exposed us to the
pedagogy of this expressive genre. We
learnt that when teaching descriptive writing, we should encourage students to
use specific activities and or behaviours of the nouns talked about in our writing, which is
expressed by using sensory words and figurative language, bringing the writing
alive.
It is important
to teach students that their choice of words when writing descriptively is very
important in portraying the correct image to their readers. It will help
students' writing be more interesting and full of details, encourages students
to use new vocabulary words and help students clarify their understanding of
new subject matter material. It was very insightful that graphic organizers,
along with the appropriate senses can be used to map students’ thoughts on the
topic of their choice. It is always
emphasized by the lecturer and has become second nature that, when teaching any
concept students must be taught the concept in context and examples must be
provided to aid understanding and retention. Another good practice is to exposing
students to words through reading and creating interactive classroom environments
with word walls and other visual aids that can reinforce knowledge used in
writing.
Descriptive
writing is not fixed to the descriptive genre but can be used in other genres
where necessary. It must also be taken
into consideration that children are excellent at describing both nouns and
verbs orally, teachers can use that avenue to introduce and reinforce the use
of descriptive language to their students. Such practical approaches may be
taken to initiate student’s descriptive language, which can be then transferred
into the written form.
No matter the
genre of writing, good writing must engage in the writing process and us as
teachers must employ the writer’s workshop which goes hand in hand for our
students becoming effective writers.
